The Digital Artefact I am undertaking for BCM325 will be in collaboration with Lizzie Farley. Our project will be a podcast that runs on the theme of Conspiracy Theories. Over the course of the semester, we will be publishing 4 podcasts in total, each with a different conspiracy theory as the topic, and running around 20-30 minutes in length.
We chose this channel as neither of us has created a podcast before, and it is emerging as a popular medium at the present. It is also an easy way to keep our tone conversational and more of a discussion, as opposed to just reciting information. We have already made a list of a few topics to talk about, making sure that each has a link to the future, whether it is an ongoing trend/theory in the future or something with the potential to happen.
Before researching and recording our podcast, a poll will be created on Twitter to see what people are most interested to hear about. The poll has 4 topic options to vote on, and after voting closes the winner will be the chosen topic for that podcast. Lizzie and I have also decided that for the following poll we won’t include the winning podcast topic (obviously because we will be recording that), and also won’t be including the losing one as it’s clear that isn’t of interest to people. The remaining 2 will be included and another 2 options will be added. We are also open to topic suggestions as part of the feedback loop.
The simplest way to breakdown the workload so that it is equal is for 2 podcasts I will do the research and Lizzie will do the editing, and for the other 2 podcasts vice versa.
Our podcasts will be uploaded to Soundcloud, where people can listen to them, but also download and save offline for listening later.
Currently, there is no name for our podcast – we are definitely open to suggestions, (something catchy would be cool).
TIANA PAOLETTI 
Hey Tiana!
As someone who loves conspiracy theories, I’m really interested in this DA!
I really like the idea of a collaboration because I think it allows for a really detailed project without as heavy of a workload. You guys clearly have a very detailed plan of your own roles and the collaboration, which will help everything to run smoothly.
The use of twitter polls is a really good idea to engage with an audience and get feedback on what topics are/aren’t popular.
I think you guys could benefit from limiting your scope a bit to a certain genre or type of conspiracy theories. Something such as Australian, true crime or a certain time period might help you to narrow down ideas. There are some really interesting ones in Australian politics alone, such as the recent ones put out by One Nation (https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/07/one-nation-and-port-arthur-conspiracies-a-long-and-dishonourable-history)
Overall great work, I can’t wait to listen to the podcasts!
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I love conspiracy theories, and I have spent more time than I care to admit going down the rabbit hole that it conspiracy theories. So, I was easily very excited when I saw that you were going to be addressing conspiracy theories. I am very interested to see what sort of theories and mysteries you will be looking into and how you will be able to connect them to future cultures.
I thought your video pitch was great, you explained everything you wanted to do very clearly, and it was visually very intriguing with the use of animation. The music was a little bit too loud in comparison to your dialog, but that’s a minor flaw in an otherwise great video pitch.
A podcast is a very effective way to present your ideas and have them be fully realised. I usually become a bit hesitant when I hear that a project is being done as a collaboration, but considering the research that would be required for every episode, this looks to be the best option for your project.
One thing I will suggest is that when you are exploring conspiracy theories to analyse, try to limit them to how it affects Australians. Only because once you go into world-wide repercussions the videos could become unfocused and very quickly go off track.
Check out this site for some ideas:
http://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/12-crazy-conspiracy-theories-actually-turned-out-be-true
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Hey Tiana,
I’m loving the sound of you digital artefact idea. Everyone loves a conspiracy theory, and it’s great that you plan on going in this direction for your concept.
You have explained what you plan to do really well through your project pitch video. A suggestion however, I don’t know much about Powtoon, but maybe its worth considering doing your whole digital artefact through the platform rather than just a podcast. The animations and overall set up of your video for you pitch could be an interesting and fun way of delivering each conspiracy theory. Then sharing these videos on a platform like Instagram or Youtube. The SoundCloud link could then be posted with the video. This then allows you to expand your digital artefact across multiple platforms of social media.
In your pitch however, you could have given us an example of the types of conspiracies you wish to use. Some accompanying statistics could also have been beneficial. Even consider maybe focusing on conspiracy theories most relevant to your audience, such as just in conspiracy theories in Australia alone. The link below is to an National Geographic article of some in Australia.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/australia/aussie-conspiracy-theories-people-still-believe.aspx
Nonetheless, I definitely look forward to seeing your Beta Presentation and how far you go with this project.
– Marcus 🙂
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Hi Tiana,
I am the biggest sucker for some Shane Dawson conspiracy theories at crazy hours of the night! I love that you found a way to incorporate a topic like this into an interesting DA concept!
The explanation behind your concept was really interesting and explained well and clearly. However, we could have benefited from a definition of a conspiracy theory and/or some statistics regarding their prevalence for someone who isn’t as familiar with this phenomenon. The method was well explained regarding the topic and how the information will be conveyed. The idea successfully addresses the concept short term lot and into the future.
This article could be beneficial as it discusses the impact of conspiracy theories in the past which will link into future research and direction (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1750698017701615)
I really look forward to tuning into your podcasts!
– Nicola 🙂
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***Addressing the future; addressing the future was well done but brief, however there was a very clear plan regarding the direction of topic and how the research will be implemented and used in the future ***
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Reblogged this on Future Cultures.
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